Exodus 4:18-31 - From Midian to Egypt
Notes
Transcript
The Word Read
The Word Read
Please remain standing for the reading of the Holy Scripture. Hear the Word of the Lord from Exodus 4:29-31
29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.
Behold, brothers and sisters, this is the Word of the Lord. Please be seated.
Exordium
Exordium
Dear Church,
I invite you to open Holy Scripture to Exodus 4:17-31 this morning. After Jesus’s resurrection, two men are walking on the road to Emmaus. In God’s providence Jesus just so happened to run into them. The two men were unable to recognize Jesus because their eyes were kept from recognizing him. The two men tell Jesus all that has happened in Jerusalem. Jesus responds in Luke 24:25-27:
25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
One of the statements I made when we started Exodus in October was we will see Christ throughout the pages of this book. We will come face-to-face with the risen Christ Jesus as we see our own spiritual exodus in the story of Israel’s Exodus. We will see much of Christ today in our passage. Also, we see the story of Moses paralleling the patriarchs at different points. For instance, the passage we will study this morning is similar to Jacob fleeing from Laban. In Genesis 31, Jacob makes the decision to leave his father-in-law Laban. Unlike our story here, Laban does not give Jacob his blessing. In Genesis 32, Jacob wrestles with God. Finally in Genesis 33, Jacob meets Esau, his brother.
The theophany has ended. Moses leaves the presence of God and he makes the trek back home with Jethro’s flock. Could you imagine that walk back home. I’m sure Moses’s heading was filled with thoughts and questions. “I’ve met Yahweh. He has seen the affliction of the people of Israel. He has heard their cries. He is coming to rescue them out of the heavy hand of Pharaoh and Egypt. He wants me to lead?”
The sermon title is “From Midian to Egypt.” The sermon will have three sections, 1) Exodus 4:18-23 - Heading to Egypt, 2) Exodus 4:24-26 - Life or Death, and 3) Exodus 4:27-31 - In Egypt. This morning we will take an incredible journey starting in Midian. We will travel to a lodging place where we come to one of the most intriguing passages of Scripture - Yahweh seeks to kill Moses. We will end with Aaron and Moses in Egypt. The Exodus has begun.
Exodus 4:18-23 - Heading to Egypt
Exodus 4:18-23 - Heading to Egypt
18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”
Moses returns to Jethro with a God-ordained, God-decreed mission. This mission is not one Moses has invented or constructed. Furthermore, Moses is not responsible for the execution of Yahweh’s plan. Yahweh is in charge of the Exodus from beginning to end. He heard the cries of His people as they suffered under state-sponsored barbaric labor. He heard the cries of mothers as their baby boys were thrown in the Nile River. He is the one who initiates the Exodus, not Moses.
Unlike the story of Jacob, Moses receives a blessing from his father-in-law to leave. I remember the time I asked my now father-in-law to go out to eat. The purpose? To seek his blessing to marry Kristin. I went to that diner with fear and trembling. I had never seen Al upset or angry. I had only known him as kind, compassionate, and caring. In fact, their family traveled up to New York one time and they heard one of my first sermons. After the service, I went out to eat with Kristin’s family at a Denny’s. During this meal we talked about my sermon, the last few verses in 1 Corinthians 1, and he said something along the lines of, “I think you should keep preaching.” I’m sure as a seasoned pastor and preacher he could have poked a slew of holes in that sermon. However, he was encouraging. Yet, seeking his blessing for his daughter’s hand in marriage was still scary. Thankfully, he gave me his blessing, and here we are celebrating our 15th Christmas together. Moses in kindness comes to Jethro, not so much to seek permission, but to honor his father-in-law. Jethro responds by giving Moses a blessing of peace.
We see that the Lord gives Moses a command, “Go back to Egypt because all the men who desired to kill you are dead.” One of the things I have loved about Exodus is the connectivity we see throughout all of Scripture. In God’s providence and divine timing, Moses is miraculously delivered from death. Think about this, if Moses had gone back earlier, those men would still be alive and they would seek Moses’s life. Yet, God is sovereign and Moses is sent back after these men have died. Likewise, Israel experiences a miraculous deliverance from death. As we will see, they stand with the Red Sea blocking their path forward. They look back and see the most powerful army barreling down on them. All hope is lost. They cry out, “You’ve brought us out here to die! It would have been better to serve Egypt!” However, the Lord is clear, “I WILL GET GLORY OVER PHARAOH AND ALL HIS HOST!” There is Moses, who has already been miraculously delivered from death, standing with the staff of God in his hands watching the Red Sea part before his eyes. He watches as Yahweh delivers not just him from certain death, but all the people of Israel. God got the glory over Pharaoh!
There’s another connection from this passage, and this time it is to Jesus. Remember Moses is not the Mediator, but he is a type of Mediator who is still yet to come. In Matthew 2, an angel of the Lord tells Joseph to flee to Egypt because Herod seeks the life of child. Herod eventually dies, and an angel of the Lord says these words to Joseph in Matthew 2:20:
20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”
Do you see the connections? This is what we call types and shadows. The entire Bible leads us to see the magnificent redemptive work in Christ Jesus.
Moses takes his wife and sons and puts them on a donkey and they begin the trek to Egypt. Moses with the staff of God in his hand.
Notice what the Lord says to Moses in Exodus 4:21-23
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”
There is a confrontation on the horizon. This confrontation is not between Pharaoh and Moses, but between God and Pharaoh. The Lord will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that the people of Israel will not be let go. This may cause some consternation with some. Would Pharaoh have let the Israelites go if the Lord had not hardened Pharaoh’s heart? Well, as we shall see, Pharaoh had a stubborn heart. What’s sitting in this passage is not merely a conversation about the distinction between free will and free agency. The real issue is who is more powerful? Will it be Yahweh or will it be Pharaoh? Who will get the glory? In Egypt, it was understood the heart held the true character of a person as well as their freedom. Pharaoh’s heart was extremely important for the nation. The people and army of Egypt went where Pharaoh’s heart went. The Lord, in hardening Pharaoh’s heart, is proving He alone is the One true God. Pharaoh’s heart is not as free as you think. Yahweh alone is worthy of worship and glory. Pharaoh, his heart, Egypt, her army, and their false gods are under Yahweh’s sovereign rule and reign.
Moses is to tell Pharaoh, “Israel is my firstborn son, let him go so that he might worship me. If you do not, I will kill your firstborn son.” The tension is palpable, and foreshadows the tenth plague. Pharaoh will not let the people go and he will lose his firstborn son, along with countless of other Egyptian firstborn sons. In these verses we learn a beautiful truth - the people of Israel have been adopted by Yahweh. This should not, and cannot be overlooked. The people of Israel have been adopted by the Almighty and they are His people.
Think about the story of the Israelites. Yahweh loved them so much that He saw their afflictions and heard their cries while they suffered under Egypt. He frees them from this oppression. He makes a covenant with them at Mount Sinai. He joyfully gives them the Law so they know how to live in the presence of the Holy God. Yet, what do we see throughout the pages of Scripture? The adopted firstborn son continually rebels against the Almighty. He sends them prophets to call them back to Him, but they ignore their warnings. Jeremiah and Ezekiel cry out that there is a seige coming to Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar is coming. He will invade the land, he will conquer them, and some will be taken into exile. This all happens because of the great love of Yahweh. He loves them so much that He disciplines them. In His love, Yahweh will not leave them on their own. His compassion is overwhelming. Listen to the words of Jeremiah 29:11-14
10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
Adoption is such a sweet, but often overlooked doctrine. The Westminster Confession of Faith was the first confessional document to include a separate chapter on the doctrine of adoption. Though the wording of adoption in the Confession is short, a mere paragraph, the truths, when understood accurately, are life changing. In short, adoption is a work of God where regenerated believers are declared His sons and daughters and are welcomed into His family eternally. Here the forensic meets the familial. Adoption is familial language and covenantal doctrine. This doctrine does not merely begin in the New Covenant but is expressed in the Old Testament under the Covenant of Grace. As we see in these verses, even in the Old Testament God is revealed as Father to His covenant children.
In the New Testament, adoption is further developed and fully revealed in Christ. Individuals are called to be “born again” (John 3:3, 1 Peter 1:3, 23). When a person becomes born again, God becomes their Father (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6) and Jesus their elder brother (Mark 3:32-25, Romans 8:29, Hebrews 2:10-11). The doctrine of adoption is theologically significant as it reveals to believers how God relates to them in His family and the blessings that are bestowed to them upon adoption.
If you are in Christ, you’ve been adopted by the Father in Christ.. He has claimed you as His. You are a son or daughter of the Most High God. He’s taken you out of the kingdom of darkness and placed you into the kingdom of light so that you might worship Him forever. He will, out of love, discipline us when we fail to pursue Christlikeness and we find ourselves in habitual sin. Yet, we get to worship the Awesome God throughout our lives here on earth, and then we get all eternity to worship the great lover and savior of our souls! He’s adopted us as His children, just as He adopted the people of Israel. We are not just adopted children of an earthly king, but of the great Creator! Let us never stop savoring the beauty of our adoption.
Exodus 4:24-26 - Life or Death
Exodus 4:24-26 - Life or Death
24 At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.
Now this is one of the most intriguing passages in all of Scripture. The whole story may seem strange for a few different reasons. 1) Why does God seek to kill Moses? 2) Why does Zipporah circumcise the son, and not Moses? 3) Why is this story included in Scripture and why is it placed here?
First, God seeks to kill Moses because his son is not circumcised. Second, Zipporah most likely circumcises the boy because Moses has fallen ill. Third, here is the most important question and answer, the story is included because Moses has failed to keep the Abrahamic Covenant. Genesis 17:10-14
10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
Moses, the one who will lead the people of Israel, has not been obedient to the Abrahamic Covenant. The Lord in turn, seeks to cut him off because he has broken Yahweh’s covenant. The man called to lead cannot be in violation of the Abrahamic Covenant! However, he is and the Lord’s anger comes after Moses. There needs to be appeasement, and it is found when Zipporah circumcises the child.
There are a slew of applicable truths for us this morning, but I will focus in on just two. First, Moses needed the anger of the Lord to be appeased. The same was true for us, we need the anger of God that was upon us to be appeased. Romans 3:23-26 speaks to this wonderful reality.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
The word “propitiation” is a beautiful word. To quote Joel Beeke:
According to the doctrine of propitiation, Christ offered himself as a sacrifice to appease the anger of God against sinners by bearing that wrath himself. The Greek words translated as “propitiate” (hilaskomai) or “propitiation” (hilasmos, hilastērion) appear only a few times in the New Testament. Yet they summarize the crucial biblical teaching that salvation is deliverance from the wrath of God, who is offended at our sins.
For this Christmas, write the word propitiation on a piece of paper. Place the paper inside a small box and wrap it. Then on Christmas morning, open that present first. Oh, the gift of God’s wrath being appeased because Christ offered himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. Open the present, see the word “propitiation”, say it over and over again, and savor the beauty of the sacrifice of Christ for our sin making a way for us to be at peace with God.
A second application is God cares about covenantal living. The reason God becomes angry with Moses is a failure to live according to the Abrahamic Covenant. For those who are in Christ, we find ourselves in the New Covenant. God cares about how we live in this life. In a covenant relationship with God, we are to live all of our lives to the glory of God. Yet what does this really mean?
I like how John Piper defines the glory of God. He states, “The glory of God is the manifest beauty of his holiness. It is the going-public of his holiness. It is the way he puts his holiness on display for people to apprehend. So, the glory of God is the holiness of God made manifest.”
When we speak of living all our lives for His glory we are speaking of living a life of holiness. God desires and commands us to live a life of holiness (1 Peter 1:15). Holy living is a characteristic of being in covenant with God. We are called to live according to the standards our God reveals in His Holy Word. We are called to live a life distinctly different than the world around us. Take a moment and think about this questions, “Do we spend more time watching TV, scrolling our phones, or pick our favorite vegging activity rather than pursuing holiness?”
There are a few ways in which we can practically seek to live holy lives empowered by the Spirit of God. First, consistent prayer for the Spirit of God help us. We are utterly dependent upon the Holy Spirit’s power. Second, we have the incredible privilege of having the Scriptures in our hands. I’m sure most of us have multiple copies of the Word in our homes. We must read and study the Word so that we can know how the Lord desires us to walk in the light. Third, we get together throughout the week talking to one another about our relationship with Christ. We freely speak about how Christ is transforming us and causing us to walk in holiness. We also tell one another the areas of our lives where sin has victory. We do this to bring hidden sins into the light which causes our brothers and sisters to earnestly pray for us, and to encourage us. In moments of disagreement, we pursue reconciliation with holiness. The world watches and wonders how this can be? How can they disagree, yet remain in control of their emotions. This is the power of God working in us causing us to live a life of holiness.
As Moses faced the anger of God, so too we faced the anger of God because we sinners who had not repented of sin. We should magnify the name of Christ because He offered Himself as the sacrifice of sin on our behalf appeasing the wrath of God which causes us to walk in holiness by the Holy Spirit’s prodding and provoking.
Exodus 4:27-31 - In Egypt
Exodus 4:27-31 - In Egypt
27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.
In these last few verses, we see Yahweh’s promise become reality. God promised Moses the elders would believe him and this is exactly what occurs. Aaron speaks all the words the Lord spoke to Moses, and Moses performs the signs in the sight of the people. Look at verse 31 again,
31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.
The people’s prayers have been answered. They’ve cried out for help and Yahweh reveals that He’s seen then and heard their prayers. Notice their response - worship. Their response to knowing that Yahweh has heard them is worship. I think we can only imagine what that worship was like when they were told that Yahweh was coming to rescue them. Finally, after years of affliction, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was coming to free them. Pharaoh is going to be confronted and the Lord will rescue them. The Lord has promised to save them and they respond with hearts of gratitude. The Exodus is coming soon. No, the Exodus has already begun.
As we’ve discussed previously, the Exodus foreshadows our own exodus. We are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness because of the Great Mediator Christ Jesus. What should our response be to hearing that we’ve been freed by Christ? The same as the people of Israel when they heard their deliverance was near - bowing of the head and worshipping Christ. This worship is not merely a Sunday morning activity, it is an all encompassing lifestyle. As Romans 12:1-2 states:
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Maybe you sit here the Sunday before Christmas and you know that you’ve never repented of sin calling out to Jesus to save you. You know you’ve not had your own spiritual exodus. You feel the Holy Spirit convicting you of sin, righteousness, and judgment. You can sense the weight of God’s anger and you know you need Christ to deliver you. You know deep in your heart that you are not a friend of God, but an enemy. Would you call out to Him this morning. Tell him that you are a sinner in desperate need of salvation. As Charles Spurgeon once quipped, “I have a great need for Christ: I have a great Christ for my need.” There is a great Christ for your sin and the Lord promises this in Romans 10:9:
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Would you stand with me as we close in prayer, and then rightfully respond to God’s Word in worship.
